“This isn’t just an individual thing, but a team sport,” said Miriam Andrus, library director, who was the championship moderator. “Most people when they think of sports, they think of basketball, but this really is a sport. You’re working together and coming up with the answers and it takes a lot of time and work.”

Hosted by Grace A. Dow Memorial Library, Battle of the Books presents a series of quizzes to test young students’ reading prowess. The competition has been around since 1978 and has inspired generations of readers; some of the parents and coaches have been a part of Battle of the Books in their youth.

“It’s nice to expose the kids to a variety of books that they otherwise may not have chosen to read,” said Deneal Johnson of Midland, one of the Protagonist Potatoes’ coaches.

The final challenge consisted of 20 oral questions, given by Andrus to the teams in turns. Andrus would ask each question twice and the answering team would have 20 seconds to discuss. Team captains Samocki and Czolgosz would then deliver the answer along with the name of the book’s author. A group of four librarians would determine if the answer was right and award points; each team was given one point for the author and five points for the correct answer. If one team gave an incorrect answer, the opposing team would have a chance to answer the question.

Both teams started strong, answering the questions correctly. At one point in the middle of the first round, the Protagonist Potatoes gave the incorrect answer to a question. The Book Warriors were given the chance to answer, but they, too, gave an incorrect response. By the end of round one, the teams were still tied.

The teams battled strong during the second round, but the Book Warriors managed to pull ahead when the Protagonist Potatoes missed two questions. The latter team used the full extent of its 20-second time to confer with each other but were unsuccessful in their answers. In each instance, the Book Warriors were able to provide the correct reply, earning an extra point for the author’s name and three points for the answer.

The Book Warriors were named champions with 68 total points; the Protagonist Potatoes came in with 42 points.

“I’m very proud of the kids. They worked together,” Johnson stated.

According to Johnson, it has been 20 years since a team from Pine River has made it to the championships; of the school’s three teams this year, two made it to the second written challenge while the Protagonist Potatoes progressed to the finals.

Both teams were studious in preparing for the battles. The school libraries and parents stocked up on the 15 titles they would be quizzed on – the Kiwassee Kiwanis Service Club has provided books for Pine River for the past several years – and parents wrote practice questions. The students themselves became masters of books and could be relied on to provide information for their teams. As an added touch, the Book Warriors developed a special huddle, linking arms and bowing heads to shut out distractions and keep their voices quiet as they discussed an answer.

“The girls worked really well together. They were a team from the beginning,” said Juliet Samocki of Midland, one of the Book Warriors’ coaches.

Adams Elementary had two teams, but while the other team wasn’t able to make it to the championships, they continued to come to practice and came out on Saturday to support their classmates.

“They started as a team and they ended as a team,” Samocki added.

Grace A. Dow Memorial Library will also host an adult Battle of the Books tournament on Friday, April 24. Registration is open. For more information, visit gadml.org/adult-battle-of-the-books.